Shallow wall automatic box



Sept. 9, 1958 F. b. BERGSTEIN 2, 0

SHALLOW WALL AUTOMATIC BOX Filed Dec. 14, 1956 .Z'IGJQ.

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INVEN TOR. 544% j BEfGSTE/M AT To R N EYS United States atent SHALLOW WALL AUTOMATIC BOX Frank D. Bergstein, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Bergstein Packaging Trust, a trust composed of Robert M. Bergstein and Frank D. Bergstein, trustees Application December 14, 1956, Serial No. 628,364-

' 2 Claims. Cl. 229-32 My invention relates to automatic boxes and more particularly to an automatic box the corner construction of which renders it ideally suited for boxes having extremely narrow or shallow body walls.

In the conventional automatic box, the corner construction is such that the body walls may be fiat-folded against the box bottom, it being necessary to simply raise an opposed pair of the folded walls to draw the structure to the erected condition. Each of the corners in an automatic box includes a part which is foldable along a diagonal score line, the folded part being adhesively secured to a second part connected to or forming a portion of the adjacent body wall. The difficulty of commercially manufacturing automatic boxes having walls less than 1% inches in depth has long been recognized in the industry and it has not hitherto been feasible to form automatic boxes with shallow walls. This is due primarily to the dificulty in folding an extremely narrowpart along a diagonal score line. Similarly, in an extremely shallow wall box it is difiicult to spot the adhesive in the corner areas and to subsequently fold the parts with the necessary degree of accuracy.

Since there has recently developed a growing demand for shallow boxes for such things as candy bars and other relatively small or fiat items, I have devised an automatic box which, even when of extremely shallow wall construction, is free from the diificulties enumerated above in that it requires no folding of the parts along diagonal score lines and, insofar as the parts are secured together, the construction provides relatively large glue areas in relation to the depth of the carton walls.

It is, therefore, a principal object of my invention to provide an automatic carton structure particularly suited to the formation of shallow wall boxes.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a box structure of the character described Which may be conveniently folded and glued employing conventional right angle folding and gluing equipment found in the ordinary box makers plant.

Still a further object of my invention is the provision of an automatic box in which all of the folding operations may be carried out by means of sweeps, there being no diagonal folds or the like requiring kickers or other timed folding mechanism.

Still a further object of my invention is the provision of an automatic box of the character described in which the corner structure is such that it serves to effectively maintain the box in erected condition and markedly re duces the tendency of the structure to reassume a col lapsed or partially collapsed condition.

The foregoing, together with other objects of my invention which will appear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a carton blank in accordance with my invention.

Figure 1a is an enlarged fragmentary view of the upper right hand corner of the blank of Figure 1 illustrating the corner construction.

Figure 2 is a plan view similar to Figure l but with the parts in initially folded condition.

Figure 2a is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to Figure 1a illustrating the corner parts in infolded condition.

Figure 3 is a plan view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating the movement of the blank in a second direction of motion and also illustrating the application of glue to parts of the corner construction.

Figure 3a is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 2a illustrating the application of glue to the corner construction.

Figure 4 is a plan view similar to Figure 3 but with additional parts infolded.

Figure 4a is an enlarged fragmentary view of the corner structure in folded condition.

Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating the blank of Figure 4 in erected condition.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a corner of the box of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of another corner of the erected box, as viewed fromthe inside thereof.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, I have therein illustrated a box blank formed in accordance with my invention. it will be understood, of course, that the blank will be formed from suitable boxboard or paperboard having the desired weight and surface finish. The blank will be cut and scored to provide a bottom panel 1 to which opposed end walls 2 and 3 are articulated along score lines 4- and 5. Similarly, side walls 6 and 7 are conneced to the remaining side edges of the bottom panel 1 along score lines 8 and 9. From the outset it will be understood that the terms side walls" and end walls are terms of convenient reference only and are not intended as limitations upon my invention. It will be readily apparent to the skilled worker in the art that the terms may be used interchangeably to denote opposed pairs of carton body walls.

In accordance with my invention, the end walls 2 and 3 are provided at their ends with attachment tabs 9, 10 and 11, 12. These tabs differ from conventional attachment tabs in that their length is greater than the depth of the adjacent side walls 6 and 7, and consequently the free ends of the tabs project beyond the outer edges of the walls 6 and '7 in the flat blank. In a relatively shallow walled box it is preferred that the attachment tabs have a length equal to substantially twice the depth of the body walls. Thus, if the body walls have a depth of substantially 1 inch, the attachment tabs will have a length of substantially 2 inches. Here again, the exact dimensions do not constitute a limitation on my invention, although it will be clear that the'length of the attachment tabs will be sufficient to permit them to be readily secured to the foldable corners of the adjacent walls which will also be enlarged in the manner now to be described.

The side walls 6 and 7 are provided at their corners with diagonal score lines 13, 14, and 15, 16, projecting diagonally outwardly through the side walls from the corners of the bottom panel. Normally, the diagonal score lines would define triangular portions at the ends of the side wall; but, in accordance with my invention, the endmost portions of the side walls are enlarged to provide foldable corner members 17, 18, 19 and 20, the outer edges of which preferably coincide with the outer edges of the attachment tabs 9-12, as will be clearly apparent from the blank of Figure 1. The foldable corner members may be said to have an over all length equal to the length of the attachment tabs.

In folding and gluing the structure just described, the blank is first moved in the direction of the arrow A (Figure 2) whereupon all portions of the blank lying outwardly beyond the score lines. 8 .and 9 are folded inwardly. Thus, the side walls 6 and 7 are folded to overlie the bottom panel 1 and the attachment tabs 912 overlie the ends of end walls 2 and 3. It will be evident that this folding operation brings the aforementioned attachment tabs and thefoldable corner member 17-20 into sideby-side relationship. Thereafter, spots of adhesive 21 may be readily applied to the foldable corner members in the manner best seen in Figures 3 and 3a. The increased length of the foldable corner members 17-20 together with the correspondingly enlarged attachment tabs provides a much larger area for adhesive application than would be possible in an ordinary automatic box.

Preferably, the application of the glue spots 21 will occur while theblank is moving in a direction at right angles to its initial direction of movement. Thus, as seen in Figures 3 and 3a, the blank will be moving in the direction of the arrow B. It is competent to point out, however, that the adhesive may be applied to the blank while moving in the direction of the arrow A, as in Figure 2, although generally speaking it is more convenient to apply it after the blank has been transferred to the second machine section. Similarly, the adhesive could be applied to the attachment tabs, care being taken to limit the adhesive to areas which will be juxtaposed to the foldable corner members.

As the blank is moved along in the second machine section, the side walls 2 and 3 are folded inwardly, thereby juxtaposing the attachment tabs 9-12 to the foldable corner members 17-20, the adhesive areas 21 serving to adhere the parts together. With the parts so secured, the structure is in its knocked-clown or fiat-folded condition; and from this condition it may be erected by exerting upwardlyand outwardly directed pressure against either pair of opposed body walls. The erected condition of the structure is illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7 wherein it will be seen that the foldable corner members 1720 are reversely folded along their respective diagonal score lines and adhered to the outer surfaces of the attachment tabs 9-12. The attachment tabs, it will be noted, project inwardly along the side walls 6 and 7 for a substantial distance beyond the diagonal lines of fold. I have found that the extra length of these tabs stabilizes the structure and materially enhances the ability of the box to stand in the erected condition without the normal tendency to reassume a collapsed or partially collapsed position.

While, as just indicated, the elongated attachment tabs assist in stabilizing the box in erected condition, it is also within the spirit of my invention to utilize the so-called off-scoring or drag principle wherein the lower edge of the attachment flap is caused to drag against the bottom of the box, to further increase its stability in the erected condition. Similarly, if desired, a slit may be incorporated in the box bottom adjacent the attachment tabs to catch the drag edges thereof.

From the foregoing it should be apparent that my improved corner construction greatly facilitates the manufacture of shallow wall automatic boxes in that it provides a much larger glue area than would be possible in an ordinary automatic box wherein the conventional triangular corner portions would be extremely small and diflicult to secure together. In addition, the arrangement of parts is such that it does not require folding of the attachment members during the folding and gluing of the blank. Rather, the parts are secured together while in flat condition, the folding of the attachment members along the diagonal score lines occurring as an incident of the erection of the box. The enlarged dimensions of the attachment tabs provide greatly enhanced stability in the erected structure and serve to prevent the collapsing or partial collapsingof the walls which would occur in the conventional type of automatic box. It may also be observed that the arrangement of parts is such that the adhesively secured areas lie outside-to-outside, which is highly advantageous in the fabrication of coated board, such as polyethylene-coated boxboard and the like. Where the surfaces to be adhered are outside-to-inside, difficulty is often encountered because of the differences in receptivity of the board surfaces to a given adhesive and, under some conditions, the adhesive has a tendency to strike into the uncoated surface of the board which may not be desirable.

Modifications may, of course, be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it. Having, however, described my invention in an exemplary embodiment, what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent 1. In an erected box structure, a corner construction consisting of a bottom panel having adjoining side edges meeting to define a corner, a first body wall hingedly connected to an edge of said bottom and projecting upwardly therefrom, an elongated attachment flap connected to the end edge of said first body wall, said attachment flap having a depth no greater than the depth of said first body wall and a length substantially greater than its depth, a second body wall hingedly connected to the remaining edge of said bottom and projecting upwardly therefrom, said second body wall having a depth sub stantially equal to the depth of the first body wall, a diagonally disposed score line in second body wall defining a foldable corner member at the end thereof adjacent said first body wall, said corner member being infolded along said diagonal score line so as to lie along the inner surface of said second body wall, said corner member having an integral rectangular extension in prolongation thereof extending along said second body wall to a point substantially beyond the upper end of said diagonal fold line, said attachment flap being juxtaposed and adhesively secured in face-to-face contact to the inner surface of said corner member and its integral extension, said corner member and the extension thereof being substantially coextensive in length and depth with'the length and depth-of said attachment flap, whereby to provide a corner construction in which the elongated attachment flap and the extension of the corner member coact to form a reinforced box corner.

2. In a blank for a collapsible box, a rectangular bottom panel, side and end walls articulated to said bottom panel, said side and end walls being of substantially equal width, diagonal score lines in each of said end walls projecting, diagonally outwardly in converging relation through said end walls from the corners of said bottom panel to define foldable corner portions at the ends of said end walls, said foldable corner portions being enlarged outwardly beyond the free side edges of said end walls to provide right angular outwardly projecting rectangular extensions wherein the outer ends of said diagonal score lines terminate at the apices of the right angles formed by the outer side edgesof said end walls and the innermost edges of said extensions, said extensions being of a width no greater than the width of said side and end walls, attachment tabs articulated to the ends of said side walls, said attachment tabs being of a width substantially equal to the width ofsaid side walls and of a length such that theirouter ends terminate substantially coextensive with the outermost edges of said enlarged corner portions, whereby to provide a blank for a foldable box in which the corner connecting members are capable of being secured together to provide reinforcing extensions at the corners of the assembled box structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,488,756 La Bombard Apr. 1, 1924 2,324,151 Hoag July 13, 1943 2,734,677 Arneson Feb. 14, 1956 2,774,530 Bolding et a1, Dec. 18, 1956 

